Laser desorption-ionization mass spectrometry of tantalum oxochloride anion clusters

Abstract The method of mass spectrometry with laser desorption-ionization was used to study the composition of tantalum oxochloride anion-radicals clusters in the gas phase, formed as a result of hydrolysis of the reaction products of NbCl5 with acetylene - an organometallic nanosized composite TaCl3,7C15H22. The families of tantalum anions containing from 1 to 13 tantalum atoms was determined. The highest in relative concentration members of these families can be distinguished into homologous series of anion-radicals (A-G), the composition of which can be described by the formulas: A - [TanO2nCln+1]- (n = 1- 10); B - [TanO2n-1Cln+3]- (n = 1- 10); C - [TanO2n-2Cln+5]- (n = 1- 7); D - [TanO2n-3Cln+7]- (n = 2- 4); E - [TanO2n+1Cln-1]- (n = 3-12); F - [TanO2n+2Cln-3]- (n = 5 - 10); G - [TanO2n+3Cln-5]- (n = 6 - 10).